Syracuse affiliate sending players to Tampa Bay Lightning camp

TAMPA -
While the full allotment of players reporting to the start of Lightning training camp likely will not be known until late Saturday, at least some of them were told Friday night.Following Friday’s Syracuse Crunch shootout victory against Norfolk, Syracuse general manager Julien BriseBois announced that five players were confirmed to be coming to Tampa for the start of camp on Sunday – Keith Aulie, Cory Conacher, Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Matt Taormina and Mike Angelidis. All but Conacher have been playing for Tampa Bay’s top minor league affiliate in the American Hockey League during the lockout on AHL only contracts because they would have to have cleared waivers to be eligible.With the lockout expected to be officially lifted sometime after 8 a.m. on Saturday, when the NHL Player’s Association will complete voting to ratify the deal, those four players will need to be placed on waivers in order to be eligible to remain with the Crunch if they do not earn a spot on the Lightning roster. Conacher, the reigning AHL MVP after leading the league in goals last season, is expected to make a push for one of the open spots at forward.BriseBois told the Syracuse Post Standard that more players would be recalled to training camp following Saturday’s game but did not reveal which players would be called up.eerlendsson@tampatrib.com (813) 259-7835 Twitter: erlendssonTBO